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London, Dallas and Fort Worth are teaming up to strengthen corporate relocations and office space expansions, investment and trade in both regions.
The mayors of each city signed a partnership agreement with the goal of more closely linking their economies and helping companies expand from one region to another, the Dallas Business Journal reports.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price have been in London this week and are next heading to Paris and Brussels on an economic development mission; they signed the partnership agreement with London Deputy Mayor for Business Rajesh Agrawal.
Companies looking to expand among the cities will have access to resources in finding office space, advisers, funding and accelerator programs.
“Through this partnership, we hope to demonstrate to Londoners what the rest of the U.S. knows — the Texas economy is leading the nation and the DFW region is the engine behind it,” Rawlings said in a statement. “With over 140 corporate relocations to our region in the last eight years, we are a business-friendly location, entrepreneurial in spirit, committed to research and poised for growth in new and cutting-edge areas.”
One London-based company expanded to Dallas just this week, according to the DBJ. Digital Shadows is opening a U.S. Intelligence Operations Center in Mockingbird Station.
As for London, Agrawal said it is “a truly global business centre and we see lots of opportunities to work with U.S. cities such as Fort Worth and Dallas. We share strengths in entrepreneurship, technology and innovation and we look forward to building stronger city-to-city partnerships to help businesses grow and expand in both regions. London is a leading destination for U.S. businesses, and equally cities such as Dallas and Fort Worth can offer a range of opportunities for London companies looking to grow their footprint in the U.S. market.”
In particular, London has been benefiting from American expertise in multifamily — build-to-rent or private rented sector — development. The asset class is well-established in the U.S. but is just burgeoning in the U.K. Earlier this year, three North American companies made a big push into the space.
“In today’s rapidly changing economy, there’s great strength in sharing opportunities and resources between our cities on an international stage within the technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and startup spaces,” Price said.
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